THE BAT SIGNAL: Williams & Blackman on "Batwoman" and Zero Issues

[CBR News]

Writer Haden Blackman and writer/artist J.H. Williams III spoke to CBR about the end of "To Drown The World," juggling multiple narratives, and the upcoming "Batwoman" #0 issue.


Full article here.

[Sunbird]

This is pretty much the only Bat-book I can muster any excitement for at the moment. I'm looking forward to the WW arc!

[Quinnhop]

That interview told me very little, but I'm still really excited.

[ffritts]

Batwoman is one of my favorite book.

[El Sombrero]

I'll give the zero issue a shot, but I'm not a Wonder Woman fan, and man, I don't think I can ever remember a single arc that completely tanked my interest in a book the way the current Batwoman arc has. It went from one of my favorite books to a book that I dropped three issues ago, and haven't even had a small desire to return to. The idea of an arc with multiple viewpoints and timelines was creative, but it probably should have been left on the drawing board, and the story execution was TERRIBLE.

[Rakzo]

I frikking love this title and how experimental Williams/Blackman are. Having different themes and storytelling styles for each arc is something really creative and I wish more people would try it.

Really excited about the Batwoman/Wonder Woman arc.

[InformationGeek]

The idea of an arc with multiple viewpoints and timelines was creative, but it probably should have been left on the drawing board, and the story execution was TERRIBLE.

The idea of that can work and has already in the past. It was the anime Baccano!, but it did it with over 15 characters and their own story arcs over 3 different time periods, sometimes looking at the same character at different times during the same episode. It also had events way out of order, in fact in the first episode it revealed the ending for 3 characters in only small 2 minutes blips. The Batwoman one here is very basic in comparison and is far easier to understand. However, what ultimately makes Baccano great and probably the same for Batwoman once the arc ends is the second time through. Once you understand where the story and characters ends up, the second reading allows you the chance to focus more on the character development and see how all the pieces come together quite well.

Honestly, I'm really excited to see how the arc ends and see the next arc commence with Wondy and J.H. Williams III back on art duties. The cover for 12 is just beautiful! I want a poster of that and Batwoman 10 for my room!

[doordoor123]

The way theyre talking about it seems like theyre finishing their run on the book. Hopefully that isnt true. They have a lot of potential, but some issues have felt more like filler issues. Batwoman will always be one of those characters I grew with because her character debuted when I found out my mother was gay. I really hope this story ends with a big punch, because I really want to see this book do well.

[doordoor123]

I'll give the zero issue a shot, but I'm not a Wonder Woman fan, and man, I don't think I can ever remember a single arc that completely tanked my interest in a book the way the current Batwoman arc has. It went from one of my favorite books to a book that I dropped three issues ago, and haven't even had a small desire to return to. The idea of an arc with multiple viewpoints and timelines was creative, but it probably should have been left on the drawing board, and the story execution was TERRIBLE.

I think it was more the pacing. Some issues had almost nothing to do with story in them and ended ungratifying. That is probably due to the art and wanting to do the art one way. It started off strong, but by issue three, things just got really stretched out. I could never remember the issue before because nothing significant happened in it and I just got really lost.

[El Sombrero]

One of my biggest peeves was that they kept introducing all these new villains and characters, but they didn't do it in a satisfying way. They just threw them out there and expected you to care or be interested. And yes, as you said Mr. Doordoor, I would get through issues and felt that despite maybe five different scenes, virtually nothing happened in each scene.

I thought I made this clear but to reiterate, the idea of the arc was kind of cool, but it would take a lot of talent to pull it off, and the execution here was horrible. It's a shame because I thought the first arc of the book (Hydrology) was pretty darn good and essentially a seamless transition from the Tec run. Then "To Drown the World" has just killed it dead for me. I hope the zero issue and next arc are really good and I can just sort of imagine TDTW never happened.

[Statham]

I think it's great, personally, that they're keeping the DADT part of her origin. Moreso than actually being gay, that felt like an absolutely integral part of her origin because it's basically one of the most decisive choices Kate makes prior to becoming a vigilante. It says so much about her, and I'm really glad that Blackman and Williams haven't decided to toss that out the window with the #0 issue.

[alf_to_the_rescue]

I had not seen this cover for the Wonder Woman arc yet. As usual it's amazing.